Audio Amplifier Power and Mounting

[04whitetahoe]

I’m in the process of upgrading my sound system and have been looking at my amplifier power run and amplifier mounting location.


My current plan is to run a fused 1/0 wire from the battery, alongside the loom that runs from the fuse box to under the truck on the drivers’ side and then ********* into the space under the rear passenger seats for amp power. I know some have run their power wires through the firewall and along the door sills, but I like the “under and in” method for my system.


* For those who have taken “under the truck” approach, is that what you did?


I know this is a subjective question, because many have taken different approaches to this same problem.


* Is under the rear passenger seat the most common (or best) location to mount audio amplifiers?

If not, what other locations are good?

* Does anyone have cool bracket ideas to mount the amps or is a wood board/structure the way to go? (I've seen this on many threads)


If it helps, I’m mounting 2 amps, one for my door speakers and one for my sub.

* When you make the runs from the HU to the amps and from the amps to the speakers, I assume these are run in the door sills?





I will really appreciate you audio guys and those with aftermarket amps chiming in on this one, I could use the direction.

Thanks, Joe

 

[saif najd]

I am planning on something similar (interested)

I would ask if you took one of those screws wouldn't you be able to pull the wire from it? Rather than making new

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk 2

 

[Yukongk]

I went through the firewall.
I mounted my sub amp under the second row seat and it never overheats. You can also mount the sub amp to the sub box in the cargo area, or (what I also considered) mount the amp in the old factory sub location to keep it hidden.
On my 2001, I can literally pop off the door sills/interior panels and do a wire run in less than 5min from the dash to the rear. There are channels to tuck wires in.
Hope some of this info is helpful.

 

[ccapehartusarmyINF.(ret)]

heres what ive done so far
under the hood i swapped out alternators for a 250 amp alt
optima and big 3 upgrade from the positive lead i have zero guage wire to a fuse holder i got a fosgate one it uses the large **** fuses or anl fuses
zero guage all the way back to my distribution block from there i used 4 guage because its a very short distance to both amps
and for grounds any part of the back seat frame works just drill and tap a hole and sand the area down to bare metal

tip
be carefull on the rear passanger side if your going to drill holes thru the floor and screw anytghing in 6 inches below the floor right there is the fuel tank

in the picture of my engine compartment you can actually see exactly were to run the wire thru the firewall

 

[ccapehartusarmyINF.(ret)]

Okay ive just basically done what your attempting and before you do anything this is the lesson i learned unbolt the back seat and pull up the carpeting and lay down all the wiring speaker wire rcas etc so its hidden and nice and neat see i learnt the hardway i mounted the amp to my amp rack then spent hours fishing wires under the carpet with steel tape so they were hidden

I’m in the process of upgrading my sound system and have been looking at my amplifier power run and amplifier mounting location.


My current plan is to run a fused 1/0 wire from the battery, alongside the loom that runs from the fuse box to under the truck on the drivers’ side and then ********* into the space under the rear passenger seats for amp power. I know some have run their power wires through the firewall and along the door sills, but I like the “under and in” method for my system.


* For those who have taken “under the truck” approach, is that what you did?


I know this is a subjective question, because many have taken different approaches to this same problem.


* Is under the rear passenger seat the most common (or best) location to mount audio amplifiers?

If not, what other locations are good?

* Does anyone have cool bracket ideas to mount the amps or is a wood board/structure the way to go? (I've seen this on many threads)


If it helps, I’m mounting 2 amps, one for my door speakers and one for my sub.

* When you make the runs from the HU to the amps and from the amps to the speakers, I assume these are run in the door sills?





I will really appreciate you audio guys and those with aftermarket amps chiming in on this one, I could use the direction.

Thanks, Joe

 

[YukonXL04]

I went through the firewall and down the door sills. It's pretty easy that way. But yes make sure to run as much wire as possible under the carpet to keep a clean look

 

[ccapehartusarmyINF.(ret)]

yes i recommend just getting it out of the way unbolt the rear seat take it out and pull up up all that carpeting and run all the your wiring i noticed thats what they do at car stereo shops pull out the back seat and pull up all the carpeting

 

[04whitetahoe]

I Appreciate the Feedback!!

I am planning on something similar (interested)

I would ask if you took one of those screws wouldn't you be able to pull the wire from it?

Hey Aziz, I think the way to go for the power run is either making a new hole from under the passenger area (or the cargo area where the factory sub is sometimes mounted) or through the firewall.

I would want to keep my seats firmly mounted with those bolts, so not so sure about that idea.

I went through the firewall.
I mounted my sub amp under the second row seat and it never overheats. You can also mount the sub amp to the sub box in the cargo area, or (what I also considered) mount the amp in the old factory sub location to keep it hidden.

On my 2001, I can literally pop off the door sills/interior panels and do a wire run in less than 5min from the dash to the rear. There are channels to tuck wires in.
Hope some of this info is helpful.

Hey Yukongk - Thanks for your input, it is helpful. I've read to some are concerned about air flow in that "sub box" in the cargo area and the solution would be to wire up a fan - I'll have to dig into that area to take a look to see if it lends itself well to a couple of amps in there.

If anyone has any photos of amps mounted in that cargo/sub area, I would appreciate seeing them!!

And Yukongk, if you have any photos of your wire runs down the tracks and how you came out to your amps, as well as how you mounted your amp under the seats, I would appreciate that too.

heres what ive done so far

tip be carefull on the rear passanger side if your going to drill holes thru the floor and screw anytghing in 6 inches below the floor right there is the fuel tank in the picture of my engine compartment you can actually see exactly were to run the wire thru the firewall

Okay ive just basically done what your attempting and before you do anything this is the lesson i learned unbolt the back seat and pull up the carpeting and lay down all the wiring speaker wire rcas etc so its hidden and nice and neat see i learnt the hardway i mounted the amp to my amp rack then spent hours fishing wires under the carpet with steel tape so they were hidden

Hey Chris, Thanks for all of your input, I see that we are pretty much doing the same thing. The tip about pulling the seats and the carpet is a valuable one, I didn't think of that!

I crawled under my truck this last weekend to scope out a power run and saw what you described about the gas tank - don't want to drill into that! It looks like near where the Evap module is located would be the spot to go through. There's a wiring run to the module, so I can use that same path to that area if I make the run on the outside and ********* in.


Do you have a photo of the wires coming out of your door channels to under the carpet? Do you have to cut the channel to get the wire out? Did you run all of your speaker wire as well as the RCA and power through the channels?

I went through the firewall and down the door sills. It's pretty easy that way. But yes make sure to run as much wire as possible under the carpet to keep a clean look

Thanks for the input Shawn - One of my next issues is how to get those moldings off the door sills without breaking them. Do they just pop off, or are they glued or something?

You'll be happy to know I'm looking at 1K watt sub amps now!

 

[ccapehartusarmyINF.(ret)]

i just ran power wires down the drivers side and the rcas down passanger side
to avoid listening to my alternator through my speakers lol
all the plastic door panels pop up easy

 

[ccapehartusarmyINF.(ret)]

were i fed the wire thru that gasket in the firewall i just put some solicone gasket maker around the wire to keep that sealed
and were i put the distribution blocks is convenieent becuse mine has a small ground you use that seat bolt to ground it

---------- Post added at 12:25 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:20 PM ----------

and as far as breaking the moldings just be careful theyll pop out but i still broke a few of i was able to order replacement ones for cheap
and make sure when you put them back on there is little metel clips that snap back in the holes dont get rambuxious like me and start trying to beat them in

---------- Post added at 12:37 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:25 PM ----------

also i see you got the big 3 upgrade and an agm battery if you total rms wattage of your amps is up there around 2000 watts id swap out that factory alternator i raplaced mine witha 250 amp because if your system starts to pull more current then the alternator puts out it starts steeling it from your battery and that wears yer battery out faster
for example yer vehicle accesories use 40 percent roughly and i think the tahoe alt is 130 amp and you have a 1500 watt rms amp at 14 volts thats like 107 amps of current